Note: If a letter to the right of
a name is in parenthesis (R) (D) (C), that indicates the political
party of the candidate. A letter not in parenthesis is the letter
grade MSSA has awarded that candidate. A question mark as a grade
means the candidate did not respond to MSSA's Candidate Questionnaire
and that the candidate also has no voting record upon which to base a
grade. Not responding to MSSA's CQ is usually a sign of
disinterest in the Right to Bear Arms, or even outright hostility to
the Right to Bear Arms.

Please recirculate the URL for these candidate grades and
endorsements. All concerned gun owners should actively support
good candidates and oppose bad candidates.

President and Vice President of the U.S.

Democratic Party
Barack Hussein Obama II F
Joseph Biden F

Republican Party
John McCain D
Sarah Louise Palin A

Constitution Party
Ron Paul
A+
Michael Peroutka A

Libertarian Party
Bob Barr
A
Wayne Allyn Root A

Independent
Ralph Nader
?
Matt Gonzalez ?

MSSA Endorsement - Presidential Race

MSSA makes a dual endorsement in the presidential contest:

If you are a pragmatic person and wish your vote to have the most
effect possible in opposing the very anti-gun Barack Obama and
Joe Biden ticket, we recommend that you vote for John McCain and Sarah
Palin.

If you are a person of strong principle and wish to vote for the best
team possible for gun owners, regardless of effect, we recommend that
you vote for Ron Paul and Michael Peroutka.

U.S. Congress

U.S. Senate

Max Baucus(D) D
Bob Kelleher(R) ?(No MSSA Endorsement)

U.S. House of Representatives

Denny Rehberg(R) A - Endorsed
John Driscoll(D) F
Mike Fellows(L) ?

Party Platform Planks on the Right to Bear Arms(Text of party platform planks posted at the bottom of this page)

LR-118 - Six-mill Levy for the Montana University System - Against (See MSSA News Release posted at the bottom of this page.)

Montana Legislative Races

Key for tables below:

Bold type and "E" after a candidate's grade means the candidate has been endorsed by MSSA.

Yellow highlight and a "?" for the candidate's grade means no
information about the candidate - no voting record and no MSSA
Candidate Questionnaire returned to MSSA. This should be
interpreted as either that the candidate is indifferent to the right to
bear arms, or that the candidate is outright hostile to the right to
bear arms.

Orange highlight is for F-rated candidates. These candidates have
terrible voting records showing outright hostility to the right to bear
arms. They should absolutely be replaced. If the candidate
is unopposed in the General Election, unfortunate voters in their
districts are urged to write in "None."

Montana Senate Candidates

District

First

Last

Grade

SD 02

Brittany

MacLean

?

SD 02

Ryan

Zinke

B

SD 03

Bruce

Tutvedt

BE

SD 03

Mark

Holston

?

SD 06

John

Brueggeman

A

SD 06

Neal

Donohue

A

SD 07

Paul

Clark

B

SD 07

Greg

Hinkle

AE

SD 09

Rick

Ripley

AE

SD 09

Erik

Somerfeld

?

SD 10

Brad

Hamlett

?

SD 10

Jim

Whitaker

AE

SD 16

Jonathan

WindyBoy

F

SD 18

Shirley

Baumgartner

?

SD 18

John

Brenden

AE

SD 19

Donald

Steinbeisser

AE

SD 21

Randen

Schoppe

B

SD 21

Sharon

Stewart-Peregoy

?

SD 22

Lane

Larson

F

SD 22

Taylor

Brown

AE

SD 24

Kim

Gillan

F

SD 24

Wilfred

Ebert

?

SD 26

Lynda

Moss

F

SD 26

Max

Graham

BE

SD 27

Jack

Sands

BE

SD 27

Gary

Branae

F

SD 33

Bob

Hawks

F

SD 33

Nick

Landeros

?

SD 34

Joe

Balyeat

A+E

SD 36

Debby

Barrett

A-E

SD 36

Lynn

Giles

?

SD 37

Steven

Gallus

D

SD 37

Robert

Dwyer

BE

SD 38

Jim

Keane

D

SD 41

Christine

Kaufmann

F

SD 41

Bob

Leach

?

SD 43

Dick

Motta

AE

SD 43

Jesse

Laslovich

F

SD 45

Jim

Shockley

A+E

SD 46

Carol

Williams

F

SD 47

Ron

Erickson

F

SD 50

Kandi

Matthew-Jenkins

AE

Montana House Candidates

District

First

Last

Grade

HD 01

Freeman

Johnson

AE

HD 01

Eileen

Carney

?

HD 01

Gerald

Bennett

?

HD 02

Timothy

Linehan

?

HD 02

Chas

Vincent

AE

HD 03

Dee

Brown

BE

HD 03

Michael

Holm

?

HD 04

John

Fuller

BE

HD 04

Mike

Jopek

F

HD 05

Jake

Pannell

?

HD 05

Keith

Regier

AE

HD 06

Bill

Beck

AE

HD 06

Timothy

Martin

?

HD 06

Scott

Wheeler

?

HD 07

Shannon

Hanson

?

HD 07

Jon

Sonju

AE

HD 08

Cheryl

Steenson

?

HD 08

Craig

Witte

AE

HD 09

Scott

Reichner

?

HD 09

Edd

Blackler

?

HD 10

Carla

Augustad

?

HD 10

Mark

Blasdel

AE

HD 11

Janna

Taylor

AE

HD 11

Pat

Estenson

?

HD 12

Ronald

Marquardt

?

HD 12

John

Fleming

?

HD 13

Jim

Elliott

D

HD 13

Pat

Ingraham

AE

HD 14

Gordon

Hendrick

AE

HD 14

Cindy

Grimm

?

HD 15

James

Steele

?

HD 15

Frosty

CalfBossRibs

?

HD 16

Shannon

Augare

D

HD 17

Russell

Bean

AE

HD 17

Lora

Wier

?

HD 18

Jesse

O'Hara

BE

HD 18

Laura

McGee

?

HD 19

Nick

Ethridge

B

HD 19

Mike

Milburn

AE

HD 20

Deb

Kottel

AE

HD 20

Jack

Allen

?

HD 20

Terry

Poupa

?

HD 21

Kent

Holtz

?

HD 21

Rick

Tryon

AE

HD 21

Anders

Blewett

?

HD 22

Bill

Wilson

F

HD 22

Jonathan

Martin

AE

HD 23

Lance

Olson

BE

HD 23

Carlie

Boland

?

HD 24

Brian

Hoven

AE

HD 24

Steve

Bolstad

?

HD 25

Sue

Dickenson

F

HD 25

Dale

Busby

?

HD 25

Paul

O'Leary

?

HD 26

Kirk

Lundby

AE

HD 26

Robert

Mehlhoff

?

HD 27

Llew

Jones

AE

HD 28

Roy

Hollandsworth

BE

HD 28

Trudy

Skari

?

HD 29

Dan

Simpson

B

HD 29

Edward

Butcher

AE

HD 30

Dan

Teigen

?

HD 30

Dave

Kasten

AE

HD 31

Margarett

Campbell

B

HD 32

Tony

Belcourt

?

HD 33

Kyle

Austin

AE

HD 33

Bob

Bergren

D

HD 34

Wendy

Warburton

AE

HD 34

Perry

Miller

?

HD 35

Wayne

Stahl

AE

HD 35

LeRoy

Baublitz

?

HD 36

Pete

Rising

?

HD 36

Julie

French

D

HD 37

Walter

McNutt

AE

HD 38

Dennis

Getz

?

HD 38

Patricia

Banister

B

HD 39

Lee

Randall

AE

HD 40

Jeff

Harding

AE

HD 40

Bill

McChesney

F

HD 41

Raymond

King

?

HD 41

David

Roundstone

?

HD 42

Bill

Joseph

C

HD 42

Carolyn

Pease-Lopez

?

HD 43

Duane

Ankney

AE

HD 43

Del

Dinstel

?

HD 44

William

Glaser

AE

HD 44

Don

Reed

?

HD 45

Tom

Berry

?

HD 45

Henry

Plott

?

HD 46

Ken

Peterson

AE

HD 47

Dennis

Himmelberger

AE

HD 47

Penny

Hanson

?

HD 48

Wanda

Grinde

F

HD 48

Douglas

Kary

BE

HD 49

Kassidy

Olson

?

HD 49

Kendall

VanDyk

D

HD 50

Maria

Hernandez

?

HD 50

Tom

McGillvray

AE

HD 51

Robyn

Driscoll

F

HD 51

Susan

Anderson

D

HD 52

Ryan

Shore

?

HD 52

Arlene

Becker

F

HD 53

Linda Kay

Wetzel

?

HD 53

Elsie

Arntzen

AE

HD 54

Debra

Bonogofsky

C

HD 54

Margie

MacDonald

?

HD 55

Robert

Maxson

?

HD 55

Cary

Smith

AE

HD 56

George

Day

?

HD 56

Donald

Roberts

BE

HD 57

Connie

Wardell

?

HD 57

Penny

Morgan

AE

HD 58

Don

Woerner

?

HD 58

Krayton

Kerns

AE

HD 59

Paul

Beck

?

HD 59

Scott

Boggio

AE

HD 60

Ross

Keogh

?

HD 60

David

Howard

AE

HD 61

Joel

Boniek

AE

HD 62

Bob

Ebinger

D

HD 62

Neal

Donaldson

AE

HD 63

Tom

Burnett

AE

HD 63

Jennifer

Pomnichowski

F

HD 64

Franke

Wilmer

F

HD 64

Ken

Champion

AE

HD 65

Brady

Wiseman

F

HD 65

Nick

Mahan

BE

HD 66

John

Milanovich

?

HD 66

Mike

Phillips

F

HD 67

Gordon

Vance

AE

HD 67

Joel

Steinmetz

?

HD 68

Scott

Sales

AE

HD 68

Robert

Brastrup

?

HD 69

Ted

Washburn

BE

HD 69

Joe

Hensleigh

?

HD 70

Michael

More

AE

HD 70

Anne

Millbrooke

?

HD 71

Kim

Miller

?

HD 71

Bob

Wagner

?

HD 72

Frank

Mastandrea

?

HD 72

Jeffrey

Welborn

AE

HD 73

Pat

Noonan

?

HD 74

George

Groesbeck

D

HD 75

Edith

McClafferty

?

HD 76

Jon

Sesso

F

HD 77

Stan

Voreyer

?

HD 77

Scott

Mendenhall

AE

HD 78

Jill

Cohenour

F

HD 78

Steve

Gibson

?

HD 79

Chuck

Hunter

?

HD 79

Neil

Templeton

?

HD 79

John

Forbes

?

HD 80

Mary

Caferro

?

HD 80

Tari

Elam

?

HD 81

Tod

Glenn

AE

HD 81

Galen

Hollenbaugh

F

HD 82

Chris

Sinrud

AE

HD 82

Mike

Menahan

?

HD 83

Fred

Froelicher

?

HD 83

Harry

Klock

AE

HD 84

Pam

Hunthausen

?

HD 84

Ronald

Vandevender

A

HD 84

Mike

Miller

AE

HD 85

Cynthia

Hiner

B

HD 85

BJ

Schubert

A

HD 86

Dan

Villa

F

HD 87

Ron

Stoker

AE

HD 87

Peter

Rosten

?

HD 88

Patrick

Boylan

?

HD 88

Bob

Lake

AE

HD 89

Gary

MacLaren

AE

HD 90

Ray

Hawk

AE

HD 90

Yvonne

Gritzner

?

HD 91

Walt

Hill

BE

HD 91

Tim

Furey

F

HD 92

Dan

Stusek

?

HD 92

Robin

Hamilton

D

HD 93

Steve

Dogiakos

AE

HD 93

Dick

Barrett

?

HD 94

Linda

Frey

AE

HD 94

Dave

McAlpin

F

HD 95

Diane

Sands

F

HD 95

Kevin

Blackler

?

HD 96

Steven

Eschenbacher

BE

HD 96

Teresa

Henry

F

HD 97

Michele

Reinhart

F

HD 97

Carol

Minjares

AE

HD 98

Will

Deschamps

AE

HD 98

Sue

Malek

?

HD 99

Jedediah

Cox

AE

HD 99

Betsy

Hands

F

HD 100

Bill

Nooney

BE

Last Updated on 09/11/2008

National and State Party Platform PlanksRelating to the Right to Bear Arms

Montana Democratic Party Platform

Hunting, Fishing & Outdoor Recreation Activities
We support the right to own and bear arms as defined in both the
Montana and U.S. Constitutions. We recognize that hunting, fishing, and
other outdoor recreation activities are essential components of the
Montana culture. We also believe that the opportunity for Montana
families to enjoy nature’s bounty is an important part of our state’s
heritage. We support the public ownership of fish, wildlife, streams
and rivers of our state, and believe that the state holds these
resources in trust for the beneficial use of its citizens. As such, we
believe that Montanans are entitled to reasonable access to these
public resources, consistent with private property rights, and that no
commercial entity should be allowed to hold a vested interest in them.

National Democratic Party Platform

Firearms
We recognize that the right to bear arms is an important part of the
American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment
right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own
firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, but we know that what
works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to
enact and enforce commonsense laws and improvements – like closing the
gun show loophole, improving our background check system, and
reinstating the assault weapons ban, so that guns do not fall into the
hands of terrorists or criminals. Acting responsibly and with respect
for differing views on this issue, we can both protect the
constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our
children safe.

*******************************

Montana Constitution Party Platform

Gun Control
The right to keep and bear arms is clearly spelled out in Second
Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. It
is the position of The Constitution Party of Montana that the Exclusive
Guarantee of all natural and sovereign rights of the Citizen rest
solely in the Second Amendment restriction upon the Congress and upon
the Federal Government. All Federal legislation in contradiction
to the Second Amendment is unconstitutional and should be abolished.

The individual States of the Union have retained the right to restrict
access of persons convicted in a court of law of a felony crime
involving the illegal use of a firearm.

We hold that the current "Brady Bill" and any subsequent enactments
under it are in fact "Bills of Attainder", and "Ex Post Facto".
As such they are unconstitutional, therefore NULL and VOID, and should
be immediately abolished.

National Constitution Party Platform

Gun Control
The 2nd Amendment strictly limits any interference with gun ownership
by saying: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security
of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed."

The right to bear arms is inherent in the right of self defense,
defense of the family, and defense against tyranny, conferred on the
individual and the community by our Creator to safeguard life, liberty,
and property, as well as to help preserve the independence of the
nation.

The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment
to the Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied.

The Constitution Party upholds the right of the citizen to keep and
bear arms. We oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by
law-abiding citizens, and stand against all laws which would require
the registration of guns or ammunition.

We emphasize that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them.
In such circumstances, the peaceful citizen's protection against the
criminal would be seriously jeopardized.

We call for the repeal of all federal firearms legislation, beginning with Federal Firearms Act of 1968.

We call for the rescinding of all executive orders, the prohibition of
any future executive orders, and the prohibition of treaty ratification
which would in any way limit the right to keep and bear arms.

************************

Montana Republican Party Platform

Right to Bear Arms
We oppose the concept of “gun free zones” in any form or in any place
except detention facilities. Depriving victims of the means to
protect themselves and others does not make anyone safer and violates
the Montana Constitution. We affirm that the right to bear arms
is a right the people of Montana have reserved for themselves,
individually, from interference by government agents and government
employees. We oppose any restrictions on the type or number of
firearms any law-abiding citizen may own or possess. We
completely support the unfettered right for citizens to use firearms to
lawfully defend themselves without fear of prosecution or government
interference (“called in question”) for having done so.

We urge the repeal of the Brady Bill Law.

We oppose any system of national registration of firearm owners and
their firearms and the setting of limits on the quantities of firearms
and ammunition that are owned by an individual.

National Republican Party Platform

Upholding the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms
We uphold the right of individual Americans to own firearms, a right
which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the
Second Amendment. We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller
affirming that right, and we assert the individual responsibility to
safely use and store firearms. We call on the next president to appoint
judges who will similarly respect the Constitution. Gun ownership is
responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend themselves, their
property, and communities. We call for education in constitutional
rights in schools, and we support the option of firearms training in
federal programs serving senior citizens and women. We urge immediate
action to review the automatic denial of gun ownership to returning
members of the Armed Forces who have suffered trauma during service to
their country. We condemn frivolous lawsuits against firearms
manufacturers, which are transparent attempts to deprive citizens of
their rights. We oppose federal licensing of law-abiding gun owners and
national gun registration as violations of the Second Amendment. We
recognize that gun control only affects and penalizes law-abiding
citizens, and that such proposals are ineffective at reducing violent
crime.

********************

National Libertarian Party Platform

Self-Defense
The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights —
life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This
right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other
individual or group. We affirm the right to keep and bear arms, and
oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of
self-defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring
registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or
transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.

MISSOULA - A coalition of pro-Second Amendment groups led by Montana
Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) announced today the kickoff of its
"Send a Message" campaign against the Montana university system
six-mill levy. The coalition is urging Montana taxpayers to vote
against the University system's six-mill levy (LR-118 on the ballot) to
end taxpayer subsidy of the dangerous victim disarmament zones imposed
by the U-system managers on Montana campuses. MSSA asks Montana
taxpayers to "Send a Message" to the U-system by voting against LR-118
on the General Election ballot in November.

Other groups in the coalition include the nation-wide organization
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), Gun Owners of America
(GOA), and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
(CCRKBA). All these groups have long been critical of the failed
and deadly policies that have led to student massacre sites like
Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.

MSSA President Gary Marbut commented, "Virginia Tech and Northern
Illinois University have displayed with human blood just how dangerous
these disarmed victim zones are. The Montana university system
has been absolutely unwilling to negotiate about its potentially deadly
and unconstitutional campus gun bans. We all know that law
enforcement can never arrive in time to save those who die in attacks
on campuses. Current campus policies only guarantee that a madman
will encounter no effective resistance on a Montana campus. We
deplore that our children should become sacrificial victims to such an
irrational and dangerous policy. MSSA asks voters to send a
message to the U. system that Montana people will not tolerate this
artificially-imposed risk to our children. Vote against the
6-mill levy that enables this potential deadly policy, and that also
violates the Montana Constitution and Montana culture. It doesn't
make sense to raise our taxes to support a gun ban."

While the Montana Constitution gives broad authority to Board of
Regents to manage the university system, Marbut said, it gives the
Board no power to suspend the Montana Constitution, the Declaration of
Rights, or the right to bear arms the people of Montana have reserved
to themselves from government interference in the Constitution.
He points out that campus officials could not, for example, suspend the
right to trial by jury, prevent people on campus from reading
newspapers, nor could they deny people on campuses the right to worship
via the religion of their choice.

Marbut reports that MSSA has attempted for over a year to negotiate
with campus officials and the Board of Regents over the nonsensical
campus gun bans, bans that create the same fertile ground for mass
killers that facilitated the massacres at Virginia Tech and Northern
Illinois University. MSSA's attempts to reason with U-system
officials have been essentially ignored, forcing MSSA to ask taxpayers
to quit subsidizing the campus victim disarmament zones. MSSA
hopes the U-system will "Get the message."

Marbut added that although the six-mill levy has passed in prior
elections, there has never before been any organized opposition, and
sometimes it barely passed anyway. He says that he has reason to
believe other Montana organizations may join the "Send a Message"
campaign because of their own areas of concern about the conduct of the
Montana university system, areas of concern such as fiscal
responsibility, social concerns and religious concerns.

MSSA is the primary advocate for gun owners and hunters in Montana,
having achieved passage of 50 pro-gun and pro-hunting measures before
the Montana Legislature in the past 25 years. MSSA is affiliated
with the National Rifle Association and associated with GOA and the
CCRKBA.